The idea that DNA from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is broken down in the digestive tract and rendered innocuous, a common industry claim, is patently false. A recent study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE found that large, meal-derived DNA fragments from GMOs are fully capable of transferring their genes directly into the bloodstream, deconstructing the myth that transgenic foods act on the body in the same way as natural foods.

A combined analysis of four other independent studies involving more than 1,000 human samples and a team of researchers from universities in Hungary, Denmark and the U.S. looked at the assimilation process for GMOs as they are currently consumed throughout the world. This includes derivatives of GM crops such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from GM corn, for instance, and soy protein from GM soybeans, as well as meat derived from animals fed a GM-based diet.

After looking at the data on how the human body processes these and other forms of GMOs, the team discovered that DNA from GMOs is not completely broken down by the body during the digestion process. What would normally be degraded into smaller constituents like amino acids and nucleic acids was found to remain whole. Not only this, but these larger DNA fragments were found to pass directly into the circulatory system, sometimes at a level higher than actual human DNA.

"Based on the analysis of over 1000 human samples from four independent studies, we report evidence that meal-derived DNA fragments which are large enough to carry complete genes can avoid degradation and through an unknown mechanism enter the human circulation system," explained the authors in their study abstract. "In one of the blood samples the relative concentration of plant DNA is higher than the human DNA."

Mark your calendar: The annual Geminid meteor shower, caused by rock comet 3200 Phaethon, peaks this year on Dec. 14th. On that date, dark-sky observers around the world could see as many as 120 meteors per hour. As November comes to a close, Earth is entering the outskirts of 3200 Phaethon's debris stream, causing a slow drizzle of meteors weeks ahead of peak night. The first Geminid fireball of the season was detected over the USA on Nov. 26th by NASA's network of all-sky meteor cameras. www.spaceweather.com

In a discovery that experts say could revolutionise fuel cell technology, scientists have found that graphene, the world's thinnest, strongest and most impermeable material, can allow protons to pass through it.

The new discovery reported in the journal Nature raises the possibility that graphene membranes could one day be used to "sieve" hydrogen gas directly from the atmosphere to generate electricity.

"We are very excited about this result because it opens a whole new area of promising applications for graphene in clean energy harvesting and hydrogen-based technologies," says study co-author Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo of Manchester University.

Graphene was first isolated in 2004 by the leader of this study, Professor Andre Geim who, with fellow researchers was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2010 for the work. At just one atom thick graphene is renowned for being the thinnest material on Earth. It is 200 times stronger than steel, and impermeable to all gases and liquids, giving it the potential for a range of uses such as corrosion-proof coatings, impermeable packaging and even super-thin condoms.

Surprise discovery

Knowing that graphene is impermeable to even the smallest of atoms, hydrogen, the research team decided to test whether protons, hydrogen atoms stripped of their electrons, were also repelled. Against expectations, they found the protons could pass through the ultra-strong material fairly easily, especially at raised temperatures and if the graphene films were covered with nanoparticles such as platinum, which acted as a catalyst.

Geim and Lozada-Hidalgo, say the findings mean graphene could in future be used in proton-conducting membranes, a crucial component of fuel cell technology. Fuel cells, used in some modern cars, react oxygen and hydrogen fuel together, converting chemical energy into electricity and producing only water. But a major problem is that the fuels leak across the existing proton membranes, "poisoning" the process and reducing the cells' efficiency - something Geim says could be overcome with graphene.

The team also found that graphene membranes could be used to extract hydrogen from the atmosphere, suggesting the possibility of combining them with fuel cells to make mobile electric generators powered by nothing more than the tiny amounts of hydrogen in the air. "Essentially, you pump your fuel from the atmosphere and get electricity out of it," says Geim. "Our (study) provides proof that this kind of device is possible."

The 18-mile bridge is said to have been passable by foot until the 1400s. Image courtesy NASA

The NASA Shuttle has imaged a mysterious ancient bridge between India and Sri Lanka. The bridge was purportedly passable on foot until 1480 AD when a cyclone moved the sand around. This recently-discovered bridge has been found to be made of a chain of limestone shoals. Its unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The bridge currently named as Adam’s Bridge (most popularly known as Ram Setu) is about 18 miles (30 km) long.This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the mysterious legend called Ramayana, according to which the bridge was built under the supervision of Lord Rama who is supposed to be the incarnation of the supreme. This bridge starts as chain of shoals from the Dhanushkodi tip of India’s Pamban Island and ends at Sri Lanka’s Mannar Island. Water between India and Sri Lanka is only 3 to 30 feet (1 to 10 meter) deep. Owing to shallow waters, this bridge presents a problem in navigation as big ships cannot travel in the shallow waters of the Pamban channel. The discovery of this bridge is not only important for archaeologists, but it also gives an opportunity to the world to know an ancient history linked to the Indian mythology.Nidhi Goyal Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. You can also find Nidhi on Google+.

The business tycoon returned to his village and gave everybody a place of their own to live

A millionaire Chinese businessman has bulldozed the wooden huts and muddy roads where he grew up - and built luxury homes for the people who lived there.

Xiong Shuihua was born in Xiongkeng village in the city of Xinyu, southern China and said that his family had always been well looked after and supported by residents in his childhood. So when the 54-year-old ended up making millions in the steel industry he decided to repay the favour - for free. The business tycoon decided to return to the village and give everybody a place of their own to live. Five years ago, the area was run down and many lived in basic homes. But the area has been transformed in recent years and now 72 families are enjoying life in luxury new flats.

After moving in, he even promised three meals a day to the older residents and people on a low income to make sure they could get by.

The 54-year-old even promised three meals a day to the older residents and people on a low income to make sure they could get by

The multimillionaire made his money first of all in the construction industry and later by getting involved in the steel trade. He said: 'I earned more money than I knew what to do with, and I didn't want to forget my roots. I always pay my debts, and wanted to make sure the people who helped me when I was younger and my family were paid back.'

Elderly local Qiong Chu, 75, said: 'I remember his parents. They were kind-hearted people who cared very much for others, and it's great that their son has inherited that kindness.'

Summer is the season for sprites, a form of lightning that leaps up from the tops of thunderstorms. This picture, just in from Dubrovnik, a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea, shows that they can be seen in autumn, too:

Some researchers believe they are linked to cosmic rays: subatomic particles from deep space striking the top of Earth's atmosphere produce secondary electrons that, in turn, could provide the spark that triggers sprites. Although sprites have been seen for at least a century, most scientists did not believe they existed until after 1989 when sprites were photographed by cameras onboard the space shuttle. Now "sprite chasers" regularly photograph the upward bolts from their own homes. Give it a try! www.spaceweather.com

With dry land increasingly at a premium, a Japanese construction company has come up with a plan to sink a spiralling city into the depths of our oceans. Each Ocean Spiral will be home to about 5,000 people, according to Shimizu Corp., with each structure also incorporating business and office facilities, hotel and entertainment facilities. A blueprint for the city of the future was unveiled in Tokyo this week, with Shimizu confidently predicting that the first of its underwater cities would be ready for residents to move in as early as 2030.

At the surface, the city will have a vast floating dome that could be made watertight and retracted beneath the surface in bad weather. Beneath the dome, the spiral structure would descend as much as 9 miles to the seabed, where an "earth factory" would produce methane from carbon dioxide by using micro-organisms, the company said. The seabed could also be mined for rare earth minerals and metals. Generators would create power by taking advantage of the difference in the temperature of sea water at varying depths, while undersea docking facilities would enable supplies to be delivered and research to be conducted. Shimizu plans to build the Ocean Spiral from resin instead of concrete and to use industrial-scale three-dimensional printers to create the components.

The cost of developing the first undersea city has been estimated at 3 trillion yen (£16.24 billion), although the company says that subsequent versions will be significantly cheaper. Shimizu has been working on the project with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and Tokyo University and believes it will take five years to build the first unit. Shimizu has a reputation for blue-sky thinking in a country in which construction firms are traditionally conservative in their approaches to projects.

Previously, Shimizu has proposed creating a 250-mile wide "belt" of solar panels around the Moon that would gather and relay a constant supply of energy to "receiving stations" on Earth by way of lasers or microwave transmission.

Published on 6 May 2014 The Illustris simulation is the most ambitious computer simulation of our Universe yet performed. The calculation tracks the expansion of the universe, the gravitational pull of matter onto itself, the motion of cosmic gas, as well as the formation of stars and black holes. These physical components and processes are all modeled starting from initial conditions resembling the very young universe 300,000 years after the Big Bang and until the present day, spanning over 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution.

The simulated volume contains tens of thousands of galaxies captured in high-detail, covering a wide range of masses, rates of star formation, shapes, sizes, and with properties that agree well with the galaxy population observed in the real universe.

The simulations were run on supercomputers in France, Germany, and the US. The largest was run on 8,192 compute cores, and took 19 million CPU hours. A single state-of-the-art desktop computer would require more than 2000 years to perform this calculation.

The Rosetta mission has detected a mysterious signal coming from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The mission has five instruments in the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) that measure the plasma environment surrounding the comet. Plasma is a charged gas and the RPC is tasked with understanding variations in the comet's activity, how 67P's jets of vapour and dust interacts with the solar wind and the dynamic structure of the comet's nucleus and coma. But when recording signals in the 40-50 millihertz frequency range, the RPC scientists stumbled on a surprise - the comet was singing, they report.

Through some kind of interaction in the comet's environment, 67P's weak magnetic field seems to be oscillating at low frequencies. In an effort to better understand this unique 'song', mission scientists have increased the frequency 10,000 times to make it audible to the human ear. First detected in August as Rosetta approached the comet from 100 kilometres, this magnetic oscillation has continued.

Rosetta scientists speculate that the oscillations may be driven by the ionisation of neutral particles from the comet's jets. As they are released into space, they collide with high-energy particles from interplanetary space and become ionised. Because it is electrically charged, the plasma then interacts with the cometary magnetic field, causing oscillations. But to draw any conclusions about this, further work is needed. Source: Discovery News

The European Space Agency celebrated a cosmic touchdown Wednesday by successfully landing a spacecraft on a comet for the first time in history. The agency said it has received a signal at 1603 GMT (11:03 a.m. EST) from the 100-kilogram (220-pound) Philae lander after it touched down on the icy surface of the comet named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. "We definitely confirm that the lander is on the surface," said flight director Andrea Accomazzo.

While further checks are needed to ascertain the state of the lander, the fact that it is resting on the surface of the speeding comet is already a huge success. It marks the highlight of the decade-long Rosetta mission to study comets and learn more about the origins of these celestial bodies.

The head of the European Space Agency underlined Europe's pride in having achieved a unique first ahead of its U.S. counterpart NASA. "We are the first to have done that, and that will stay forever," said ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain. The landing caps a 6.4 billion-kilometer (4 billion-mile) journey begun a decade ago.

Rosetta, which was launched in 2004, had to slingshot three times around Earth and once around Mars before it could work up enough speed to chase down the comet, which it reached in August. Rosetta and the comet have been traveling in tandem ever since at 41,000 mph (66,000 kph).

No spacecraft has ever landed on a comet--until today. On Wednesday, Nov. 12th, the European Space Agency dropped a lander onto the strangely-shaped core of Comet 67P. Get the full story directly from the ESA.www.spaceweather.com

On Nov. 11th, Tony Phillips of spaceweather.com flew from California across the USA to attend a science communications meeting in Washington DC. As an experiment, he decided to take a radiation sensor onboard the plane. The results were eye-opening. During the apex of his flight to DC, cruising 39,000 feet above the desert between Reno and Phoenix, he recorded a dose rate almost 30 times higher than on the ground below:

There was no solar storm in progress. The extra radiation was just a regular drizzle of cosmic rays reaching down to aviation altitudes. This radiation is ever-present and comes from supernovas, black holes, and other sources across the Milky Way. In a single hour flying between Reno and Phoenix, the passengers on Phillips's flight were exposed to a whole day's worth of ground-level radiation--or about what a person would absorb from an X-ray at the dentist's office. That's not a big deal for an occasional flyer, but as NASA points out, frequent fliers of 100,000 miles or more can accumulate doses equal to 20 chest X-rays or about 100 dental X-rays. Lead aprons, anyone? The radiation sensor is the same one that Earth to Sky Calculus routinely flies to the stratosphere to measure cosmic rays. It detects X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners. Indeed, when the sensor passed through TSA security at the airport, it began to buzz loudly, signaling a heavy dose of X-rays in the carry-on baggage scanner. TSA agents gathered around the instrument to investigate and they were quite interested when Phillips explained its function. Several wanted to know if they themselves were exposed to radiation in the vicinity of the scanner; a quick scan of the area revealed no leaks. After boarding the plane, Phillips monitored radiation levels closely. Dose rates tripled within 10 minutes of take-off and remained high for the duration of the flight. This simple experiment shows that space weather can touch us even when the sun is quiet. Imagine what an actual solar storm could do....www.spaceweather.com

The European Space Agency is about to make history: On Nov. 12th, it is going to land on a comet. The action begins Wednesday at 08:35 UT when ESA's Rosetta spacecraft drops a probe named "Philae" onto the core of Comet 67P. This video shows what happens next:

In the past, nations of Earth have landed on planets, moons, and asteroids, but never before on a comet. This is an important and daring first. "A comet is unlike any other planetary body that we've attempted to land on," says Claudia Alexander of the US Rosetta Project at JPL. "Getting Philae down successfully will be an incredible achievement for humankind." "How hard is this landing?" asks Art Chmielewski, the US Rosetta Project Manager. "Consider this: the comet will be moving 40 times faster than a speeding bullet, spinning, shooting out gas and welcoming Rosetta on the surface with boulders, cracks, scarps and possibly meters of dust!" Philae will take 7 hours to fall 22.5 km from the spacecraft to the comet--an interval some mission scientists are calling "The Seven Hours of Terror." Confirmation of the landing will reach ground stations on Wednesday at approximately 1600 UT. You can follow the descent as it happens by tuning in to ESA's #CometLanding webcast. www.spaceweather.com

Sometimes, words just complicate things. What if our brains could communicate directly with each other, bypassing the need for language?

University of Washington researchers have successfully replicated a direct brain-to-brain connection between pairs of people as part of a scientific study following the team's initial demonstration a year ago. In the newly published study, which involved six people, researchers were able to transmit the signals from one person's brain over the Internet and use these signals to control the hand motions of another person within a split second of sending that signal.

At the time of the first experiment in August 2013, the UW team was the first to demonstrate two human brains communicating in this way. The researchers then tested their brain-to-brain interface in a more comprehensive study, published Nov. 5 in the journal PLOS ONE.

"The new study brings our brain-to-brain interfacing paradigm from an initial demonstration to something that is closer to a deliverable technology," said co-author Andrea Stocco, a research assistant professor of psychology and a researcher at UW's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. "Now we have replicated our methods and know that they can work reliably with walk-in participants."

Collaborator Rajesh Rao, a UW associate professor of computer science and engineering, is the lead author on this work.